Altair and his Past
by AnimeANDGamelover
Summary: Altair gets put inside his memories forcing Malik to take care of work while he is gone, how is he going to get out? Will his memories be changed? Will the present that Altair knows disappear? READ to find out, Rated T just in case.
1. And so it begins

Altair and his Past  
Chapter 1: And so it begins…

It happened on a misty morning, where Altair and the Apple were together along with Malik watching both of them.

"Altair, you should rest, playing around and trying to understand the Apple will drain your energy and waste both of our times", Malik pleaded to Altair, "Fine, tell me when we shall eat, I'm going to rest for now", and as Malik was about to close the door, he told Altair not to try and use the Apple while he was not there.

As Altair rested, thoughts rushed through his head, unable to comprehend what was happening between the Apple and reality, he only had this one thought, his wife, Maria, and their only son,'*Sigh*,How will I ever be able to understand what the apple is trying to tell me if I have other responsibilities to attend to, nonetheless, the Apple is also my responsibility and I have to try to understand it, it speaks of a prophecy and much more concerning the earth...what could it all possibly mean?', Altair put his hand on his forehead and went to lay down on his bed, tired and mentally weakened, he lay there, motionless and asleep, only to be awakened 3 hours later by Malik telling him to eat, Altair only growled and went back to sleep, but Malik pursued and Altair finally gave up and began eating.

As Altair was done eating, he asked Malik to take the dishes back and to return immediately for he wanted to continue with trying so desperately to understand the Apple, Malik was against this, but Altair told him it had to be done.  
So Malik, hesitant, left the room leaving Altair and the Apple alone once more, Altair, staring into the piece of metal that seemed so dangerous to mankind could not understand what it all meant, 'what is this prophecy? what will happen to the earth if we are not able to stop what will happen? and what will cause the earth's downfall?', Altair thought so heavily and deeply that he was almost at the brink of becoming a madman,but then he remembered Maria and their only son,and regained his senses and waited for Malik to come back.

After about 15 more minutes of waiting, which seemed endless to Altair, Malik came back telling him what caused him to take so long to come back, Altair just threw the story out of his head and got the Apple and sat back down on the middle of his room, Malik just watching there, waiting for something to happen.

As the time went by, Malik was getting worried, he did not want Altair to go on with the Apple for more than 2 hours, which seemed fair enough to Altair because he wanted to go straight for a day, so it was either Malik would take away the Apple or Altair would do it for 2 hours only,2 hours in the morning,2 hours in the afternoon, and 2 hours during the night, it seemed only fair seeing that Altair had other responsibilities to attend to.

Malik waited, and as he waited, worried thoughts rushed through his head, consuming whatever free space his mind had to offer. 'When will Altair finally give up this stupid pursue in trying to understand that thing of destruction? when will he start acting like a man and like a father?', such thoughts raced and rushed through Malik's head.

After what seemed like and eternity, Altair put the Apple down and told Malik that he was going to bed early, Malik, relieved told Altair not to use the Apple in the morning, only during the afternoon and night time, Altair did not want to argue and just said yes.

As Malik was just about to close the door, a bright yellow light came out from behind him and so did Altair's scream. Malik pushed the door wide open and saw it, the Apples power surrounded Altair, Malik screamed Altair's name, but Altair did not react for there was this small like windy storm inside Altair's room, and after about 5 minutes of that horrific sight, the bright yellow light disappeared, and the Apple stopped it glow or terror, Altair fell, motionless, Malik rushed to his side and screamed at him to stay alive, Altair was alive, just not conscious to see what was happening, just then Malik felt a hand touch his shoulder, there was this shady and ghostly figure of Altair, they both looked shocked, and that shady figure was made with the Apples power.

They both could not comprehend what was happening, but Altair had this idea of what could have happened, he told Malik that the Apple must have taken his consciousness and made it into this shady figure of what seemed to be Altair, but they both had no idea, just then Altair heard this voice, It instructed him to get the apple and place it in his solid form, so he did just that, they fixed Altair's body and put both his hands on his lap, then the voice told Altair to sit in the exact same position, but before Altair did this, he told Malik what he had to do, and Malik started and argument, but Altair still wanted to do this, after a brief and most head bursting argument, Malik finally agreed to let Altair do this, so he sat in the same position, closed his eyes and they both waited.

After a long wait, the Apple glowed, this time Altair's conscious was put back in his body and Altair opened his eyes in shock and so did Malik. Altair gave a short scream before everything went silent again and the glow disappeared, the Apple made this projection that Malik could not understand till he saw Altair, "ALTAIR!", Malik yelled,and the Altair turned around in shock and yelled Malik's name, "Where are you?", Altair asked, "I'm still in your room", "But how is that possible?", I don't know".

As Altair took his time to look around he realized he was in one of his memories and told Malik, Malik was shocked but it was the only explanation that could tell why Altair was there and why that area looked familiar to him, it was one of the training grounds for novices, then Altair heard it again, that voice, this time telling him he needs to relieve particular memories, and Altair repeated what the voice said to Malik could understand why he was there.

"ALTAIR! Come over here! We have to start training!"

Altair shocked turned around and saw his old mentor, "I'm coming mentor!", and as Altair was going there, both he and Malik said, "So it begins..."


	2. Novice Days

Altair and his Past  
Chapter 2: Novice Days

As Altair finally arrives, he sees his mentor and a few other novices, Altair had a feeling he didn't lose any of his abilities, as if he never even was a novice, but his mentor would think otherwise.

"Where have you been? It is rare of you to be late during your practices", asked the mentor, "Sorry mentor, I was…uh…I was practicing climbing, grabbing and dropping from a ledge from my other practices", Altair said as convincingly as he could, "Fine, well just join the other students, today, we will be practicing our free-running, that includes jumping from beam to beam, swinging from a pole to a beam and free-running on the rooftops"

Altair a lined with the other novice's, including Abbas and Malik, Altair's relation with Malik was good, but Abbas was a different situation, ever since Altair told Abbas that his father killed himself in front of Altair when he was only ten.

"Altair, it is rare to see such a favorite of the mentors be late", Abbas said while trying not to make it sound offensive, "Sorry to disappoint you Abbas, perhaps today you can be the favorite of the mentor", Altair said with a hint of amusement in his voice, that enraged Abbas and he tried to land a punch on Altair, "WHY YOU-" but as Abbas was about to hit Altair, the mentor grabbed Abbas's arm and told him to stop, "You to, after practice, we will have a talk", and it was directed to both Abbas and Altair, "Just great", Altair mumbled angrily under his breath.

So they continued to train, and as it was sunset, Altair and Abbas were both taken into their mentors room, "What am I going to do with the both of you? If you keep this up, we are going to have to force you to be put in the dungeons for a week, and I guarantee you would not want that", scolded the mentor.  
"But it was Altair who started it first!", Abbas yelled while pointing a finger at Altair, "Oh really? Am I the one to believe that I told myself that it is rare to see myself late, seeing that I am the favorite of the mentors? If I can recall correctly Abbas, YOU were the one who said that to me!", Altair hissed in his calm yet angered voice.  
"THAT'S ENOUGH!BOTH OF YOU! If you are not going to behave, you will be put in the dungeons and your training will be extended!", The mentor said to both of them in such an angered and irritated way. "Go back to your quarters, we will have practices earlier tomorrow", and both Altair and Abbas left and went to their quarters.

"Quite a show Altair", Malik said with a ounce of humored and amusement in his voice, "Shut up Malik, I'm going to bed", "What? Already? But we have to discuss on you getting out of there!", this time Malik was irritated and a little confused, "We will, tomorrow, we will have an early dismissal from our practices, that's when we will discuss, but I need to find a place where other's won't hear us and eavesdrop on us", Altair said calmly before falling fast asleep, "What a man", Malik mumbled to himself before falling asleep himself.

The next morning, as Malik woke up to the projection, he saw Altair getting ready for the early training.  
"I see, so that is why your dismissal for practice is going to be early, the mentors must have a meeting", after some silence, Altair was finally able to muster a response, "Probably", "Malik, for the whole practice, just keep your mouth shut, we don't know If I am the only one who can hear you, of if others can also hear you", Altair warned and told Malik before he left and closed the door.

As Altair came to the training grounds where they would practice sword fight, since he was first, he got his wooden sword and tried using the advanced moves he knows since he has a feeling he never really lost the abilities, and to his surprise, he knows it, but the amount of force is weaker.  
"Since I know this, I must also know all of my other moves, but I cannot use them since it will attract to much attention, and It might change my own memories which will be bad", Altair thought to himself before finding someone touch his shoulder, Altair got surprised and nearly swung his wooden sword at the other novice, he sighed with relieve, "Sorry Altair", the novice said feeling as relieved, "Its alright"  
They both talked till more of the other novice's were there, including Abbas and Malik.

For most of the day, the just practiced sword fighting, and finally, the mentor dismissed them and this was Altair's chance to find somewhere to talk to Malik in private.  
"Finally Altair, I've been waiting for how long just to talk to you?", "Easy Malik, I just need to find somewhere private for the both of us to talk". After quite some time, Altair finally found this small cave near Masyaf's forests, "This should be far enough, I'll just whisper, you should as well".

"So Altair, have any idea on what you should do to get out of your own memories?" , Malik asked with concern, "I'm not sure yet, I will try to think of it for now, but what will you tell Maria and Darim? You can't tell them that I have entered my own memories and is trying to find a way out", Altair told Malik, "I'll just say you went to the other cities and will be gone for sometime, this is the best that I can do for you Altair", "That'll be fine Malik", as the two conversed into the conversation concerning certain topics and documents that Malik were looking at while Altair was thinking.

It was already sunset when Altair realized he had to get back to Masyaf quick, "We'll continue talking when I get to my quarters", Altair told Malik as he was running back to Masyaf. Thankfully he got back in time for supper, Altair sat next to little Malik during supper time and talked about practice and how they were going to be the best of the best.  
After supper, it was just Altair and the voice of Malik in his quarters.

"So, we finally have some more time to talk about this problem, how long will it take you to get out of there?"

"I don't know"

"What is the reason you are in your own memories?"

"I don't know"

"Do you have a plan for sneaking out if you need to talk to me?"

"I don't know"

"ALTAIR! YOU MUST KNOW SOMETHING! THESE ARE YOUR MEMORIES AFTER ALL! YOU SHOULD ATLEAST KNOW HOW TO SNEAK OUTSIDE OF MASYAF FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!"

"TRY DOING THAT IN MY SITUATION MALIK!I HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A PLAN, DO MY STUPID PRACTICES AND TRY NOT TO GET INTO TROUBLE WITH ABBAS!IT'S ALREADY HARD ENOUGH!"

"Fine, but you better come up with some sort of plan to get out of you memories or sneak outside of Masyaf"

"Fine Malik, just get some sleep, we both need it…"

After the conversation ended, they both went to sleep, but each with thought of worry and minds that were stressed and frustrated.

The next morning, Altair was waken up by an excited novice, "Huh? Hey, what's going on?", "WE'RE GONNA PRACTICE WITH REAL SWORDS ALTAIR!", the novice yelled with excitement and then left for Altair to get changed, confused but happy, Altair took his shower and then got dressed, but when he went to the training grounds, a new mentor was there, one that Altair was not familiar with, "Hello, I will be your new mentor since your other one had to go away on a really long trip", the new mentor told the confused novices, "When will he be back?", Malik asked, "It won't be soon I'm afraid, but don't worry, till he returns, I will be your new mentor".  
There was something wrong with this guy, Altair felt it, when he spoke those words, no matter how assuring he made it sound, to Altair it sounded more like he was taking the position of mentor and their original mentor won't return.  
The mentor looked at Altair and gave this smile which seemed devilish and evil to Altair, that's when he knew something was wrong, he wasn't part of the citizens of Masyaf, he was an outsider!


	3. Friend or Foe?

Altair and his Past  
Chapter 3: Friend or Foe?

After the training, when they were dismissed Altair headed towards the cave again, this time discussing the matter with 'The voice of Malik', "Who was that? Where did he come from?", Malik asked, the anger and confusion in his voice was present when he asked this making Altair feel all the much more suspicious in the matter, "I do not know, but I will find out one way or the other", Altair said as he started contemplating on how the methods of the new mentor were, the form was fine and so was everything about swordsmanship, but Malik had to butt in during his explanation and asked, "So why are you complaining about his methods?,"Because MALIK, he explains in poor detail making the other novices confused and it takes a long time before they get it, I - sometimes - have to explain how it is done and what to do", Altair said in great annoyance looking back earlier today and Malik just laughed at this, they continued the rest of the afternoon discussing about how Altair will get back and about the paperwork piling up and how Malik was doing it, but in the end, when they had no clue and no idea how to get Altair out of his memories, he left the cave and headed towards the dining hall of Masyaf where all or most of the assassins eat, but as he was heading there he ran into the younger Malik and they started conversation.

"Malik, I am telling you that this so called 'new mentor' is not part of Masyaf!", Altair pleaded with the younger Malik, "So you expect me to believe you know every single citizen here?", Malik asked with somewhat of a humorous tone, Altair felt annoyed at this - that Malik wouldn't believe him that the new mentor might be a Templar spy, but of course, they were only so young and just novices that none of them should believe in anything as supersticious as that, "Fine, believe what you want, I'll stick with my suspicion, let's just get to the dining hall so we can eat dinner", Altair said as he hung his head and shook it with defeat in persuading Malik, and Malik just laughed at this gesture and they continued walking until they reached the dining hall.

Once they were there they sat down next to whatever friends Malik and Altair has - and ofcourse Altair doesn't have that many friends so they just mostly sat with Malik's - so once they sat down they began eating and started chatting amongst one another, but all that stopped when another of Malik's friends sat down and said, "Hey did you hear? The new mentor was called by Al Mualim","The master? Why would he be called for that", another friend of Malik asked, "Does it have something to do with our original mentor going away on short notice?", another one asked, and that person actually had somewhat read the question on Altair's mind, "Who's gonna ask the master about it?", all fell silent to this question that Malik dared ask. After what most of them considered to feel like an eternity Altair finally said, "I will", all of them gasped at this and Malik retorted at this by saying, "Altair! What if master gets angry at you?", Altair sighed at this and gave him some time to think about that leaving the others at edge about his answer, finally he spoke,"The master will understand, after all", he said as he finished eating and wiped his mouth and stood up, I am his favorite of the assassins, am I not?", Altair said with a arrogant smirk on his face which made the rest of the novices shake their heads in a manner that said to Altair 'when will he lose that arrogance?' and just laughed and left the rest of the novices as he headed towards Al Mualim's study.

When Altair reached Al Mualim's study the young, yet somewhat old man felt his presence and said, "Safety and peace, Altair", "To you as well, master", Altair said this as he bowed his head knee to show respect, "What brings you to my study?", the old man asked with a calm yet powerful voice, a voice enought to instill fear in all assassins, even Altair at this age, "I have a question master", "Well then, what is your question, Altair?", Altair was so hesitant to ask this, but if he didn't he knew he might regret it, so he mustered all the courage to ask it, "Master... is the new mentor, the one that replaced our old one... is he... is he a Templar spy? If not, who is he?", The question made Al Mualim put on an amused facial expression, "No, he is not a Templar spy, I called him to talk about where your old mentor was and he explained that he went away to Damascus to see his wife as she is only has 2 more weeks before she gives birth, he told me that your old mentor, Hazim, wanted to stay with their child for about 3 weeks before heading back to Masyaf, Hazim even wrote a letter saying so, your new mentor is a old friend of the brotherhood, he was forced into early retirement cause of a wound a Templar gave him, if he has trouble teaching the students and the students have trouble understanding it is only because he is still learning how to teach, does this answer your question, Altair?", before Altair replied he thought 'if the master trusts him why shouldn't I? After all he is the wisest of us, and who am I to question his decisions, and he also explained to me what happened to our old mentor and who our new one is, I should just be glad that the new mentor isn't a templar spy' and he sighed then replied, "Yes master, it does, thank you", Al Mualim smiled and told Altair to head back to his quarters and Altair complied, feeling exhausted.

On his way back to his quarters he saw the new mentor and decided to tell him what he asked Al Mualim and ran towards him.  
"Mentor! Mentor!", a small voice stopped the mentor and he turned around to see who was calling him, he saw Altair a little out of breath and before he could ask what was wrong Altair spoke, "Mentor, I must apologize", the mentor was confused and asked why, Altair responded and explained he thought the mentor was a Templar spy and that he killed the old mentor to take his position, the new mentor seemed somewhat surprised at this but soon changed his expression to a soft smile and said, "It is okay Altair, you also may call me mentor Arham", Altair smiled a little at this and replied, "Okay, thank you mentor Arham", "Now we have gotten this out of the way, why don't we head back to our own quarters?", Altair nodded at this and both seperated to go to their own quarters to rest after an exhausting day.

Once Altair reached his quarters he changed then sat on his bed, then got startled as the voice of Malik interrupted his thoughts,

"So at least we know he isn't a Templar"

"Yeah"

"Got any idea on how you can sneak out of Masyaf yet?"

"No, but I'll ask the others"

"And any clue on why your stuck in your memories and why it is changing?"

"No, hopefully I'll find out soon cause if I don't, I'm going to kill someone"

"Don't do that, otherwise I'll be stuck with all this work and you'll be leaving Maria and Darim alone with no husband and father!", Malik yelled, angry at Altair's reply

"I know, I know, let's just rest, after today, I don't think I'll be able to not get a headache tomorrow morning"

"Fine"

And with the conversation ending, they went to bed in their own time and place, Malik's in Altair's study and bed during the present, and Altair in his old novice living quarters inside his memories, they both knew things just got complicated and know that it'll get even more complicated the days to come.


	4. Return of the Father and Clues

Altair and his Past  
Chapter 4: Return of the Father and Clues

As Altair got up early in the morning and took a bath, then decided to get dressed before hearing the voice, or should I say SNORING of Malik, 'still must be asleep', he thought as he continued dressing up, once he was done he headed to the dining hall where he and the rest of the novices at their breakfast before going our to the courtyard to stretch and do exercises before they started their lessons. Altair was jogging laps around the courtyard with Malik and a few other novices while having himself burried deep inside his own thoughts that he didn't hear Malik calling him. He was so wrapped on how to get out of here that he didn't know what was happening around him or who was calling him, not until Malik came near him and nudged his arm hard enough to snap him out of his trance, "Huh? Malik, what is it?", "Altair, I've been calling your name a couple times now, I couldn't get you to reply until I nudged your arm, are you alright?", Malik asked, worry evident on his face and in the tone of his voice, Altair sighed and replied to him, "Yeah, just got a lot on my mind", Malik smiled then smirked at him which made Altair a tad uncomfortable, "So... what was on your mind that made you not reply to my calling?", Malik said, it showed on his face that he found Altair's minor dilemma amusing, and that made Altair want to punch him, but instead he held back and just replied, "I'm trying to figure out how to sneak out of Masyaf without being detected", on upon answering Malik, before he could even respond to what he thought was a suicide thing to do the mentor, Arham, called all the novices to gather for their practices.  
"Altair, you do know what you are asking, and what you may do, might get you punished severely by the master, or worse", Malik said with haste as a whisper, Altair knew this well, but he just needed to know how to get out, nothing more, nothing less, "Of course I know this Malik, I just need to know how to get out, just in case if something happens", "*sigh*, Altair...", Malik stopped, trying to find the right words to tell his friend and brother, "I don't know what to tell you anymore, try asking a few of the other novices, cause I have no idea how to do that, just be careful", "Of course, Malik", they finished their conversation as they reached their mentor. Most of the day they just practiced climbing, dropping, grabbing, sword fighting, free - running, the tennents, and the Creed, the rest of the morning has been uneventful, that is until they were having lunch at the dining hall.

"EVERYONE! EVERYONE! Umar Ibn-La'Ahad has returned! Gather at the courtyard, we will see him there!", one of the mentors announced, Everyone has been surprised at this, but no one could be even more surprised than Altair himself, and at this everyone got up and started running and shoving just to see Umar, father of the favorites of he mentors, Altair Ibn-La'Ahad. Once gathered in the courtyard, everyone lined up to see Umar come back from his assassination mission. As Umar entered the courtyard he saw everyone lined up and smiled at this, he then saw 10 year old Altair stand tall and straight, held a straight face and looked the most disciplined and strong from among the rest. Umar walked up to him and ruffled his hair making Altair make a little bit of an annoyed face, he just smiled at this and resumed walking towards Al Mualim's study. Once Umar entered the tower or Masyaf, everyone disbanded and resumed with their usual routines, Altair, Malik and the other novices left and continued practice, but on their way there Malik decides to start up conversation with him.  
"Altair! Happy to see your father return?", Malik asked while smiling at him, that smile just made him frown, "How do I put it?... He was never more as a father, but more like a mentor rather, he taught me from the day I was born, on how to be an assassin, so I look up to him more as a mentor than as a man who made me", was Altair's answer and Malik only laughed at this while shaking his head causing Altair to, once again, make another frown and continued walking towards their practice. The rest of the day was uneventful as Umar coming back was the only eventful thing that has happened, so once they were done they went to the dining hall where they ate and had idle chatter about the happenings of the day, what was to come the day after, and what kind of women they liked (Which in Altair's case thought it was a stupid thing to discuss but Malik said it was not and they ended up arguing about it throughout most of the dinner time), once they were done, they headed to their quarters.  
Once Altair was at his own, he closed the door behind him slowly, lowered his head and sighed, 'Today has been exhausting, to much thoughts in my head, father coming home, and I still need to find a way out of Masyaf and how to get out of my memories, this whole mess is just so... it's bullshit!', Altair finished his own thoughts and turned around but jumped and made a quiet scream full of shock, his father was there sitting on his bed watching him, "Al ab, what are you doing here?", Altair asked after he regained his posture, "Altair, Ib'ni, I have something to talk to you about", when Umar said this, Altair feared for the worst, he would never say something like this unless it is about an incident he had done or witnessed and did not do anything.

After Umar's talk, which of course, was about his and Abbas' fight the days before, they stayed silent and did not say anything to one another. The silence was broken when Altair spoke, "Father... is there a way out of Masyaf, besides the gate? One where no one would look to find and is secret?", Umar gave Altair a confused look as Altair asked his question, "Why do you want to know?", "Father... what if something happens, and I need to get out? What if I have to do something, but the master does not allow it? What if danger approaches and the gates are blocked or lost?", Umar looked at him, then he looked down staring into his hands which were together, as if waiting, "Altair, my boy, if I tell you if there is one, promise me to only use it when necessary, otherwise don't use it at all, hmmm?", Altair's face perked up a bit when he heard his father say this, "Of course father! I promise", Was all that Altair said. Then Umar started explaining that near the cave Altair found to talk with Malik(The Voice) on the right side of the tree near the shallow river was a wall, not any wall but a secret entrance wall, he told Altair that the lever to open the wall was on the tree, he also explained that that entrance was for emergencies only, such as the things Altair has asked before. Once he was done explaining Umar got up and left, Altair felt happy about this and was still thinking about it until Malik interrupted his thoughts again.

"So Altair...","Gah! Malik! What are you doing?!", Altair said as he was [Extremely] startled by the sudden voice of Malik in his head, "I heard that you found your way out of Masyaf","Yes, I did", "So does that mean you will be leaving soon?", "No, not yet, I still have to find out why I'm in here, let me gather some more information and see if there are people in Damascus, Acre, or Jerusalem who know of my situation", Altair finished, "Ah, but of course. Well, tell me when you've found something because I will have to get out of your room and do all the paperwork that YOU left behind, so I will not be back for about two to three days, understand?", Malik said with irritation creeping up his voice as he was saying this, "Why, of course, Master Malik, is there anything else you want to tell me?", Altair said with slight amusement in his tone as he found this situation quite enjoyable, "Kol ayre wle, Hmar!", and with that Malik left (mentally I suppose) leaving Altair laughing at what he had said, 'better rest, I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be an eventful day, and not in a good way'


End file.
